mystery – Page 5 – Aussie Reviews

Revenge, by Gabrielle Lord

Revenge is a stand alone sequel to the 12 books which initially made up Conspiracy 365. It has the same fast paced action, count down style and first person voice – though this time as well as Cal’s voice, most of the story is told in his mate Boges’ voice.

I knew something was wrong as soon as I saw the envelope.
It was waiting for me on my pillow. A red wax seal marked it like a thick, wet drop of blood.
I ran to the window and looked out, but the front yard was dark and quiet. Cautiously, I pulled the curtains back across and picked up the creamy-coloured envelope.
The front was blank, but the seal on the back was carefully pressed with something feathered. I held it under my lamp.
A chill shuddered through my body.

In Conspiracy 365 Cal Ormond spent a year of his life on the run from a plethora of enemies, all after him for his link to the mysterious Ormond Singularity. With the help of his friends he had to unravel the mystery of the singularity and outwit his enemies, all the while being hunted by the police and the press who believed he was a criminal. Now he is back with his mother, sister and friends, his new inheritance ensuring a comfortable future. Until he finds a note on his pillow and realises someone is still after him.

Now there are just 30 days until something terrible happens – but Cal has no idea what that terrible thing is. And, when he disappears, it is up to his friends to find him and solve the mystery.

Revenge is a stand alone sequel to the 12 books which initially made up Conspiracy 365. It has the same fast paced action, count down style and first person voice – though this time as well as Cal’s voice, most of the story is told in his mate Boges’ voice. There are mysteries to solve and readers will enjoy guessing at these and looking for the clues as they joining the ride which feels somewhat like a junior James Bond, with high-tech devices, larger than life baddies and exciting settings.

Fast paced action for upper primary and lower secondary aged readers.

Revenge (Conspiracy 365), by Gabrielle Lord
Scholastic, 2011
ISBN 9781741699760

This book can be purchased online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Love, Honour and O'Brien, by Jennifer Rowe

When Holly Love leaves Sydney bound for her new life in the Blue Mountains, she has no idea just how different her life is about to become. She thinks she’s heading for wedded bliss with her fiancé Andrew. But Andrew has vanished, taking Holly’s heart and all of her savings. All she has is a dodgy car, forty dollars cash and a burning desire of revenge…

Holly Love’s life fell apart on a Monday. Somehow this made the whole thing seem even more surreal. Being an optimistic sort of person, Holly had always thought of Mondays as new beginnings, days of promise.

But as she tries to figure out what has happened, Holly’s life goes from the helpless to the bizarre. First the investigator she hires turns up dead, then she’s dragged in to a mystery involving a missing person, an Elvis impersonator and a giant snake. And what’s with the black four wheel drive that seems to be following her wherever she goes?

Love, Honour and O’Brien is a funny, clever mystery with a blend of the bizarre, the sinister and the just plain funny. Holly is a slightly naïve but determined main character, and the new friends she makes are an entertaining bunch. As an accidental detective, Holly does a pretty good job of figuring out what’s going on, though she relies on a bit of luck and the help of her new friends to get her out of trouble when things get heavy.

This is a good fun read, with hints that there may be more stories to come featuring Holly Love.

Love, Honour and O’Brien, by Jennifer Rowe
Allen & Unwin, 2011
ISBN 9781742375830

This book can be purchased in good bookstores or online from Fishpond.

A Pocketful of Eyes, by Lili Wilkinson

Bee has a summer job working in the taxidermy department of the museum – and she loves it. That is until her supervisor, Gus, is found dead in the Red Rotunda. Gus has apparently committed suicide, but Bee is not convinced. Something is not right and she is going to use her sleuthing skills…

‘Most of you will already have heard that Gus, our Head Taxidermist, died last night,’ said Akiko Kobayashi, the museum Director, her knuckles white on the wooden lectern.
Bee sat next to Toby in the back row of the auditorium where the museum held public lectures and forums. The other staff members were dotted around the room, sitting in groups of two or three. Some were crying. Bee felt as if she couldn’t blink. The only other part of her body that had any feeling was the hand Toby was holding. Gus was dead?

Along the way she has the help of Toby, a handsome boy who was with her on the night Gus died, and who seems to be a font of knowledge when it comes to strange animal behaviours. As she tries to solve the mystery, Bee must also deal with her conflicting emotions about Toby, her slightly odd mother and her new boyfriend, and the fact that her best friend seems to have paired up with Bee’s boyfriend.

A Pocketful of Eyes is a funny, clever mystery book with a liberal does of romance and plenty of humour. Bee is intelligent and funny, but she also makes silly mistakes and has the self absorption typical of a teenager, and with which readers will relate. Wilkinson is a versatile author, and fans will love this dip into mystery writing .

A Pocketful of Eyes, by Lili Wilkinson
Allen & Unwin, 2011
ISBN 9781742376196

This book can be purchased in good bookstores, or online from Fishpond.

Follow the Money, by Peter Corris

When beautiful young women kiss you on the cheek you know you’re over the hill, but I didn’t really feel like that. As Wesley said, I still had the moves.

Whether he has the moves or not, Cliff Hardy keeps finding himself in trouble. Since he had his private investigator’s license stripped, his life has taken multiple twists and turns. Most recently, he’s lost all his money to an unscrupulous financial advisor, and now he’s at risk of losing everything. So when he has the chance to find said advisor and perhaps avoid total ruin, he takes it – even though officially he’s not allowed to investigate anything.

Cliff Hardy has graced the pages of Australian crime novels for thirty years, and it is wonderful to see him back in Follow the Money. Like a favourite coat, each new tale fits comfortably so that fans know what to expect – but at the same time the character grows and develops a little each time. Follow the Money is no exception. Cliff is in new danger and must face new challenges personally too, meaning that the story avoids becoming too predictable.

Another satisfying instalment.

Follow the Money, by Peter Corris
Allen & Unwin, 2011
ISBN 9781742373799

This book can be purchased in good bookstores, or online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

The Distant Hours, by Kate Morton

It started with a letter. A letter that had been lost a long time, waiting out half a century in a forgotten postal bag in the dim attic of a nondescript house in Bermondsey.

When a long lost letter is delivered to her mother, Meredith, one Sunday afternoon, Edie Burchill knows there is a mystery behind it – but it is some time before she realises just how deep the mystery is. The letter, lost for fifty years, is from Juniper Blythe, who had billeted Meredith during the war. The delay in its delivery is the result of a misplaced sack of mail, but those lost years have had ramifications for Meredith, her daughter Edie, and for its sender, Juniper.

Edie sets out to unravel the events of fifty years ago, visiting Mildehurst Castle, the home of the now elderly Juniper and her older sisters, who have lived together all their lives, and who shelter much history. It was also the home of their father, Raymond Blythe, author of a classic children’s book The True History of the Mud Man , the very book which has inspired Edie’s love of literature. On her visits to the castle, and back in London, Edie slowly peels back the layers of the various mysteries surrounding the Blythe sisters and her own mother.

Part gothic tale, part mystery, this beautiful woven tale meanders through the lives of the various women, with the reader guessing – often incorrectly – at the answers to the mysteries and the secrets which will be revealed. Moving between 1992 and 1941, the narrative draws the reader into both sets of events, keeping the pages turning and the mind guessing right to the conclusion. Not a feel-good book, but a finely rendered one.

The Distant Hours, by Kate Morton
Allen & Unwin, 2010

ISBN 9781742371832

This book can be purchased in good bookstores, or online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Sharp Turn, by Marianne Delacourt

‘It’s from Wal Grominsky. He says, Keep a watch out for anyone tailing y–‘
I planted the accelerator and ran the red light, ripping a sharp left off the highway soon after.
‘–ou,’ Ed oophed out. He fell hard against his door and yelped in pain but I didn’t have time for apologies. In fact, I didn’t say a word for half-a-dozen more hairpin turns and a backtrack around the water tank on top of the Mosman Park hill.
Ed rubbed his shoulder. ‘What the-‘

Unorthodox PI Tara Sharp needs new clients, but she’s less than impressed when Madame Vine, proprietor of a high-class brothel, wants to hire her to sort out her staff. When the chance to work on a mystery threatening a high-profile motor racing team comes up, she’s much more keen. Tara is a petrol head, and hanging out at the track – and getting paid for it – seems like heaven to her.

But it isn’t long before Tara’s life is once again in danger. A body found floating in the Swan River reminds her that Johnny Viaspa may have it in for her. Add in a murder at Madam Vine’s abd a mysterious greay car tailing her, and it seems certain that Tara is in for more action than she bargained for.

Sharp Turn is the second action-filled crime novel in the Tara Sharp series, set in and around Perth. Tara is a sassy, clever investigator with the unorthodox investigative skill of being able to read auras. She is surrounded by an eclectic mix of characters, including a narcoleptic body guard, a runaway teen, posh parents and enough hunky men to satisfy any reader.

Readers will look forward to seeing more of Tara Sharp.

Sharp Turn, by Marianne Delacourt
Allen & Unwin, 2010
ISBN 9781742370033

This book can be purchased in good bookstores, or online from Fishpond.

Thrill City, by Leigh Redhead

Remembering my training I depressed the door handle with my elbow, nudged it open with my foot, then wished to god I hadn’t. My stomach shrivelled and I had to lean against the frame to stop my legs bucking beneath me.
I was staring into an office with a floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the river. More unpacked boxes were stacked against the walls, and between me and the massive desk sat a high-packed leather swivel chair, facing away.
And the whole room was covered in blood.

Simone Kirsch is back in business, celebrating the opening of her very own detective agency. But when crime novelist Nick Austin hires her to show him how she works, she doesn’t expect this innocent-sounding job to land her deep in hot water. Nick’s ex-wife is found brutally murdered, Nick himself disappears, and Simone is deep in trouble. Someone wants to kill her, and her investigative license has been suspended. Only by finding Nick Austin, and figuring out who wants to kill both her and him, will she get her life back on track.

Thrill City is the fourth title featuring sassy ex-stripper turned PI Simone Kirsch and ,like its predecessors, this offering is a blend of action, suspense and wry humour. Kirsch is likeable, flawed, and self-deprecating. Her first person narration takes the reader on a ride through the highs and lows of her investigation and her personal life. Favourite characters from earlier books, including her friend Chloe, now heavily pregnant, also add interest.

Great stuff.

Thrill City, by Leigh Redhead
Allen & Unwin, 2010

This book can be purchased online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Wyatt, by Garry Disher

Wyatt took the stairs. The lift was available, but lifts were a trap. He went straight to the first-floor apartment’s concealed safe and removed the contents: spare cash, two sets of false ID and the deeds to both properties. Finally he grabbed the dark suit hanging in his wardrobe. There was nothing else that he wanted to take with him when he left the place forever, no photos, no diaries, letters or other keepsakes, for the simple reason that he had no past that he wanted to think about.

No one knows much about Wyatt. But, after an absence, he is now back in town. Eddie Oberin doesn’t know a lot about Wyatt, but he wants Wyatt to work with him on a big heist. Eddie’s ex-wife Lydia has some inside knowledge which makes the job easy, or so it seems. But Alain Le Page, the target of their heist, is an unknown quantity, and he might just be a match for Wyatt and his team.

Wyatt is a crime thriller from one of Australia’s masters of the genre. Pitting shyster against shyster, and with a colourful cast of characters including a stripper with a huge chip on her shoulder, and another woman who may prove to be Wyatt’s equal, it is a story which keeps the reader guessing right to the end.

Great stuff.

Wyatt, by Garry DIsher
Text Publishing, 2010

This book can be purchased online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Forbidden Fruit, by Kerry Greenwood

It is Christmas time, a season that Corinna Chapman hates, and a heat wave is stifling the whole city. But still bread and muffins must be baked, and Corinna and her apprentice Jason are doing just that, keeping their clientele – which has grown to include a rosewater loving donkey – happy. In between times, Corinna is kept busy helping her divine private investigator boyfriend Daniel as he searches for two teenage runaways.

Brigid is heavily pregnant and Manny is helping her run from her family, who have been keeping her captive. Daniel and Corinna’s search is hampered by the runaways’ fear, and by the strange men in suits who seem to want the girl, and her baby. Fortunately, they also have at their disposal an eclectic range of helpers – free spirit freegans, over-zealous vegans, internet hackers and even a witch.

Forbidden Fruit is the fifth adventure featuring baker Corinna Chapman and her intriguing friends and associates. Corinna is a dry witted, feisty woman, with an unmatchable view of the world. Readers will be delighted to see regular characters from previous volumes including Meroe the witch, dreamy Daniel and shop girls Goss and Kylie, as well as new characters including Brigid and Manny and Serena the donkey. Food lovers will also love the elaborate detail of the food which is entwined throughout the plot.

Heavenly.

Forbidden Fruit, by Kerry Greenwood
Allen & Unwin, 2009

This book can be purchased online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

The Dark Mirror, by Barry Maitland

“No, well, anyone else probably wouldn’t have noticed, because this is so unusual now, in this country – the first case I’ve come across, to tell the truth. But I remember the smell so well from my student days, in India. We opened up a number of victims – well, the stuff was readily available, you see, in herbicide and pesticides and industrial processes and God knows what…’
Kathy waited but he seemed momentarily at a loss. ‘What are we talking about, Sundeep?’ she asked gently.
‘Arsenic, Kathy. I’m almost sure that she died of arsenic poisoning.’

When graduate student Marion Summers collapses and dies, the cause is not immediately apparent. But when the autopsy reveals arsenic poison, DI Kathy Kolla is sent to investigate. Is this a dramatic suicide, or has someone murdered the mysterious Ms Summers?

Marion’s research into the life of artist Dante Gabriel Rosetti seems an unlikely part of the murder mystery, but given both the issue of arsenic poisoning amongst his associates, and Marion’s obsession with the issue, Kathy becomes increasingly sure there is a link. But as she and DCI Brock get closer to uncovering the truth, there is a second poisoning – this time one of Marion’s student friends – and it appears there is a serial killer on the loose.

Dark Mirror is the tenth installment in the much-lauded Brock and Kolla series from crime writer Barry Maitland. Using characters with whom fans of the series will be familiar, as well as plenty of new faces, there is no disadvantage for those who have not read the earlier stories but a nice sense of the familiar for those who have. The mystery itself is fast paced, with lots of suspects, clues and red herrings, and action which keeps the pages turning.

A gripping, satisfying mystery.

The Dark Mirror, by Barry Maitland
Allen & Unwin, 2009